Lorena's Epiphany

I love Sunday lunches with what’s left of the extended family. I love Sunday lunches in August when the entire extended family is here from around the world…

I’m appreciative, every single day without fail, that I’m by the Mediterranean all day.

I love sitting on a balcony and hearing the jingle to LBC news coming from the neighbors’ living room, whilst I ignore the country’s goings on and look across the twinkling lights of the city.

I love walking around the city, lost. Asking for directions and being invited in for coffee by random old ladies, who painstakingly keep their little corners of the universe spotless, especially for impromptu guests.

I love, that after years of celebrating my birthday in the freezing rain in London, it’s always sunny on November 12th here in Beirut.

I love that people have lunch breaks, where they actually break for lunch. I once read on the side of a cab in London: “A Sandwich at your desk is not a lunch break”. Truer words have never been spoken.

I love that people work to live, and don’t live to work. I love that we put olive oil on all our food, even though I can’t stand the stuff. I love the warped sense of pride people get when they realize a celebrity has some sort of Lebanese ancestry. I love that even the most competent linguists can’t help but say “eno” and “yaane” in conversations with foreigners. I love that people fight over who pays a dinner bill.

I love happy hour in Gemmayze, walking out of Torino Express slightly buzzed on a few beers while the suns still out.

I love Beirut because you’re never far from thousands of years of civilization, even though it’s usually hiding behind a Dunkin’ Donuts or a Virgin Megastore.